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Business Opportunities for Professionals
The Truth
My cheek to the kitchen floor I said, "Dad. There's a metal
thing hanging down here. Isn't that what you've been looking
for?"
My dad, also on his knees, extracted his mid-section from
between the washing machine and the wall. He looked slowly at my
mother and then to where my finger was pointing. "Yeah, that's
it," he calmly said.
In the next three minutes, he was able to complete the job on
which he had already spent an hour.
My dad was not a prideful man. He accepted the obvious truth
when he saw it, regardless of the source. Today, if I were a
10-year-old little helper and my dad was a professional
businessman, I'd say, "Dad. Independent business, isn't that
what you've been looking for?"
He'd extract himself from between his job and his financial
obligations. Then he'd look at my mother, look at where I was
pointing, evaluate the subject, and then say, "Yeah, that's it."
Then he'd take action and work over the next five years to do
what he hadn't been able to do in the previous 30.
Job's fail 98% of the time. People come out at the end of a 40
year career either dead or broke - or both. Most people stay in
that system because it's all they know. Our parents told us to
get a good education, get a good job, and then work hard. That
advice starts the wheels down that road. Then we get a paycheck
and security, and translate that into debt and obligations. From
then on there is never a time when we think we can break the
cycle of paycheck-obligation in order to start a business - even
if we were so inclined. It takes repeated corporate beatings to
precipitate an eye opening.
Corporate Beatings
There are times, when our economy slumps, that a great awareness
takes place. Like a bear awaking from a winter's nap,
professionals rub their eyes and realize that they can, rather
need to, get out of their redundant, sleepy day and make some
serious changes. Often, these people are forced to review their
options. The job they considered secure was considered excess in
the eyes of their company. These mid- to late-career
professionals have finally experienced this type of loss enough
times to be ready to make a career adjustment. Like the bear
emerging from his cave, he is focused and determined. He has a
hunger that will be fed through the product of his effort;
effort that is in distinct contrast to the long winter's sleep
of a job.
"We've all talked about going back to a 'corporate' job. The
thing is; this is a great life. Why would I want to give it up?"
asked Jennifer Overholt, an independent consultant. Working for
yourself is empirically and intuitively the superior choice for
creating a living when compared to a job. The joy of the
independent "is in the work they do and in doing it without the
burden of managing anyone but themselves. They own what they
earn, but more importantly, they own their decisions." I will
not detail the woes of the economy, the fickleness of corporate
leadership, or the constraints of a job. I'd rather stay focused
on the positives of working independently, while showing you how
to overcome the weaknesses of this approach.
Control
I have spoken with thousands of people who dream of being
independent. They want to join the estimated half a million
annual home-based business start-ups and 8.6 million independent
contractors nationally. Most are coming from high level
positions in business that demand extraordinary hours and
effort, frequent travel away from home, and a limited income.
Granted, for most of these people, $200,000 defines limited
income. They were looking for the antithesis to their current
situation. In general, they wanted to control their schedule,
work near home, have unlimited income potential, and the
security of not having a job that is kept at the pleasure of
their employer.
Simply the opportunity to take this step is something most
professionals miss during their job-hibernation. People without
a college degree start over 71% of businesses. People with a
higher education, years of earnings and experience, and family
stability should be leveraging those attributes to craft the
exceptional life they want. They are infinitely more qualified
to run a business properly when compared to a high school
educated, blue collar worker. Our white-collar wearing peers,
however, often ignore this truth because of the habit of a job,
a substantial income, and insufficient self-esteem that won't
allow them to risk their security on their own abilities.
One of the weaknesses of an independent business is that it does
primarily depend on the abilities and efforts of the owner. More
importantly, however, it depends on their determination combined
with their abilities. There are two different issues here,
abilities and determination. You can control both.
Is Your Education an Advantage?
Your education and experience are advantages to you because you
have a larger foundation on which to place new information.
Accepting that, when you choose a business, opt for something in
which you already have abilities, or which you can learn
effectively, very quickly. Don't try to learn a complicated
product or service while you learn how to run a business. You
need to be able to focus your effort in the moneymaking
activities and necessary administrative procedures that your
business demands.
Your determination needs to be like the hungry bear's. You have
to remove failure as an option. If the bear fails, it dies.
You've never had to persevere as you may have to in your own
business. Losses typically come out of your personal pocket, off
of your dinner table, out of your children's college fund. You
can't syndicate the decision making or responsibility. Stress is
carried on the shoulders of perseverance like an overweight
child. The rewards you are looking for are ONLY available for
those who will shoulder that burden over time.
Ownership. Do it or Stop Complaining.
For some of you, ownership is a foreign concept. You've always
worked for a company who owned something. You always looked at
the owners as the fortunate people who make all the real money
while you do the hard work for a set salary. Here's a secret.
Owners ALWAYS take risks and make investments BEFORE they make
the real money. The owners of the company you work for spent
money and did work BEFORE you were hired. They risked the loss
of that money and time BEFORE they saw a return. They had
anxiety over their decision to leave their safe paycheck behind
BEFORE they made their business work. You have the same choice
before you now. You must decide to persevere.
Even your effort alone cannot guarantee success. You need
funding. It is always intriguing to me to speak with someone who
is a high-level professional who doesn't have the funding to
start even a modest business. To independently start a home
based business it is going to cost $20,000 to $50,000. These
self-professed successes can't pull that money out of a liquid
investment to make a start. Most are struggling financially,
even after a decade or more in a high paying job, and yet they
still thrash about with the decision to go in a different
direction. I'll spell it out again - Jobs don't work. The proof
of this lies within their own experience and they continue to
resist seeing it.
See it!
Funding
Funding is critical for all start up costs such as office space,
equipment, inventory and advertising. It is just as vital to
have money for the time period prior to becoming profitable. If
this is not available from your personal funds, you must find an
outside source. It makes sense that you want to keep your costs
down while providing the product or service you envisioned in
your business plan. "Operating out of the home has always been
fabulous for me. It gives a business owner a financial advantage
because it really keeps your cost down, and that allows you to
funnel most of your cash flow into growth activities that
matter," says Sheila Lovell. Mrs. Lovell has already founded and
sold one successful home-based business and is currently
building and profitable in her second.
Financing is usually an issue, and the ability to work out of
your home will drastically cut your capital need. If you choose
a business that requires financing in the range of $70,000 the
way Sheila's did, you may find it difficult to go through
traditional sources due to banking regulations and banker's
preconceptions of what a 'real' business is. According to a
banker with Capital Connection, you will need, "to work very
hard on a business plan that will document a company's strengths
and potential."
A business plan is your road map to success. It should be as
comprehensive and reasonable as possible in order to predict the
time, costs, and effort that you need to outlay in order to
become profitable. You must research the market, determine
overhead, predict the product acceptance, and figure out how
you'll get the word out. The pleasantness of your move onto this
new path is directly proportional to the amount of forethought
and refinement in your business plan.
Business Opportunities and More
The dilemma now is that the knot in your stomach is balanced by
the excitement in your mind. You know you have to put action
behind the intellectual decision to start your own business, and
you know it won't be easy.
You can now see why the Business Opportunity section in USA
Today is so large and why magazines are dedicated solely to the
market of people looking to own their own business. The draw to
these types of businesses is their turnkey nature. They are
packaged so you simply need to add effort and it will succeed.
These businesses level the playing field for everyone. Inc.
magazine discovered that the "key difference between
entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs isn't personality traits;
It's that entrepreneurs somehow have learned to take the steps
required to set up a business." Business Opportunities have done
these start-up steps for you.
You don't have to create a business or business plan from the
ground up in order for it to be successful. You can evaluate the
business plans of others, examine track records, and pick from
among the best businesses in the world. It is perfectly
reasonable for you to pay for and take what others have
emplaced, and create a successful business from that point
forward. The legitimate offers are designed to reduce the knot
and increase the excitement.
Business Opportunities are businesses and business plans that
have been developed through several different methods. Many have
grown out of experience in the field, while others are created
from a completely new idea.
An appropriate business for you will lower or eliminate the
obstacles I've mentioned. It will train you thoroughly on
simple, proven products or methods, perhaps some in which you
already have experience. This will shorten the learning curve
and allow you to focus on building your business and completing
the administrative details that are always necessary.
In order to remove some of the stress of being independent,
ongoing support and networking with peers is available. Overholt
complained, "I had no one to bounce my ideas off of." Typically
business opportunities have a developed community of business
owners with whom you can learn and grow. Terri Lonier, President
of a consulting company warns, "A mistake many entrepreneurs and
free-lancers make is thinking they can go it alone." It's hard
to overemphasize the importance of community and support as it
relates to business and success. I consider the high level of
community that people experience at a job one of the major
reasons why they stay in that situation. Even when times are
bad, at least we're all in it together. Support and connection
will be a significant strength in a business opportunity.
Surprisingly Low Cost
The cost should be reasonable to start and maintain. The
start-up costs of business opportunities have risen dramatically
over the past four years with many starting in the $30,000 to
$50,000 range. Interestingly, some of the most powerful ones are
still below $15,000, and the best one isn't even a business
opportunity, it's a school. Beyond Business School, Inc. keeps
its costs low while teaching people a unique method for
successfully becoming an independent consultant. They have a
different approach that I don't have time to detail. They
educate people in how to run their own business and give them
the tools to do so, without limiting their products, services or
suppliers. Pretty impressive model and one that is very
attractive for the professional who wants to maintain control.
Even though the cost of a business opportunity will typically be
much less than starting from the ground up, you still need to
make a plan for cash flow. Also be aware of any additional costs
you might incur to become profitable. For standard storefront
type businesses the sell price is based on some derivative of
the annual gross sales of that business. Purchasers of those
businesses don't plan on actually making money for two to three
years. Evaluate the reasonableness of the business opportunity's
one-time start up cost based on a conservative estimate of your
monthly earnings once you are up and running. A good rule of
thumb is that they should be about the same.
Conclusion
Considering the benefits of lower cost, available expertise, and
a short launch timeline, I consider business opportunities a
rich field of choices for the person who is seriously looking to
safely move into the ranks of the self-employed. The best advice
I've seen for when and what type of business to start comes from
Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell Computer Corp. "I'm not
really a market timer when it comes to entrepreneurship. I think
you do it when it feels like it's time to do it. ... Find a
really large market - or one that's going to be large - that's
inefficient, and you come up with a breakthrough way of
delivering value to customers that nobody has ever done before."
Business Opportunities give you have a great chance for the
life-style you desire if you are willing to put your education
and effort behind a proven plan. When will you be a business
owner?
To learn more about Brace E. Barber, please visit
http://www.noexcuseleadership.com. To learn more about the
recommended solution, Beyond Business School, Inc. Please visti
http://www.beyondbusinessschool.org.
About the author:
Brace E. Barber is the author of the book No Excuse Leadership.
http://www.noexcuseleadership.com. Mentioned in the article is
Beyond Business School, Inc.
http://www.beyondbusinessschool.org. Brace is a graduate of West
Point and veteran of the Army and multiple entrepreneurial
endeavors.
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